Sandy’s
done folks.
What
you see is what will play.
We’ve
written a number of times about the fact that the 2011 Mets were 6th
in the entire league in batting average (.264) and also 6th in on
base percentage (.335).
What
we haven’t written about is the fact that 283 of those hits were made by Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran.
The Mets had 1,477 total hits as a team. You do the math.
Injuries
aside, the starters look like 1B Ike Davis, 2B Daniel Murphy, SS Ruben Tejada,
3B David Wright, C Josh
Thole, LF Jason Bay, CF Andres Torres, RF Lucas Duda.
I’d
love to put a positive spin on this and I can think of thousands of “what if’s”
that would work in favor for the Mets, but, on paper, this is easily one of the
weakest starting lineups in baseball.
First
of all, there is no one to pitch around. No big bat. No hitter that defines the
team. Wright is a great player, but when did he lead the league in, well,
anything?
Secondly.
The defense is absolutely poor and was not addressed in the off-season. We all
have seen the stats in this area for the team in 2011. 2012 could surpass that
futility.
Lastly,
the utility players are less talented. Scott Hairston offers
the only quality bat.
Let’s
move on to the rotation:
Johan Santana, Jon Niese, R A Dickey, Mike Pelfrey, Dillon Gee
Frankly,
I only see Niese surviving the rebuilding and I’m surprised Dickey wasn’t dealt
already while the Mets could still get a decent prospect for him. Everyone has
signed on to the rebuilding process, so there is no reason to keep him and
Wright around.
The
projected 2014 team needs a third baseman, a catcher, a center fielder and a
left fielder. You can snag two of these players with Wright and Dickey.
The
pen: Manny
Acosta, Tim Byrdak, D.J. Carrasco, Frank Francisco, Pedro Beato, Bobby Parnell,
Jon Raush.
Here
is the one area fans can get excited about. This is a vast improvement from
2011and Sandy and Company deserve a gold star for how they filled in the holes
here.
I
would stretch out Beato in Buffalo, and deal off Parnell and Carrasco to the
highest bidder, but, that’s just me.
Lastly,
spring training doesn’t offer any surprises. No one is ready to jump from AAA
to Queens. It really doesn’t matter what Chris Schwinden,
Reese Havens, Jordany Valdespin, or Zach Lutz does.
The Captain is still mending and only Juan Lagares has
any chance.
It’s
too early for me to predict the season, but right now, we’re talking 4th
or 5th place.
6 comments:
I would not be happy if the Mets trade Dickey.
I understand.
I'm just one of those guys that dive in once a decision is made.
The Mets strengths are their future pitching and I can't see a reason for Dickey to be resigned.
Based on that, he could get this team the AAA/AA prospect catcher or outfielder they need to
properly build the 2014 team.
A simple solution is to offer a bazillion dollars to Michael Bourn and Brian McCann, but it's not gong to happen.
I would like to see the Mets address one or two of the "positions of need for 2014" with the four early draft picks that they will use in June.
My fingers are crossed that the Florida catcher (Zunino) drops to #12!
I'm sure they will, but no one drafted in 2012 is going to help the 2014 Mets.
My guess is, if the "big 4" pitchers all have a ++ 2012, one will be dealt for a CFer.
Still, Dickey and Wright could have secured the 2014 lineup.
I think you're going overboard trying to be objective. Far too brutal. Sure, Reyes and Beltran are gone, but Davis was lost all season and Wright was basically hindered for four months after he broke his back. I also think you are not giving Duda his due. If Bryce Harper put up Duda's numbers in triple A, no one would doubt he'd be primed for a huge season. Because its Duda, who has gotten extremely better after every promotion and also hasn't been considered a big prospect, he's almost an after thought. The rotation, yes, they might finish close to last because of that, but certainly not due to the offense.
You'all may be right.
My glass is pretty half emty right now.
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